sjhoward.co.uk » London

Photo-a-day 87: Heathrow Terminal 5

179 words posted by Simon on 27 March 2012

Last time I was in this terminal, a couple of years ago or thereabouts, was not long after it opened. It’s far busier today than it was then, though the large number of seats means that it’s still easy to rest one’s feet.

I’m here today for a domestic flight, which probably makes me an environmental disaster. I did come down to London this morning by train, but the cost of a train journey back up to Newcastle today was almost twice the cost of the flight. Even though it isn’t me paying, I feel uncomfortable spending others’ money unnecessarily, so I made the cost-conscious choice.

Train travel’s both more convenient and more environmentally friendly, but the crazy train fare pricing structure priced it out of the market for me today. That’s something that should be rebalanced. Why not impose a rail levy on all domestic flights to support development of the more sustainable form of transport and reduce ticket prices on trains? There may be good reasons why that doesn’t happen, but perhaps it’s worthy of consideration?

This post was filed under: Photo-a-day 2012, Aviation, London.

Thomas Docherty MP on Big Ben collapsing

62 words posted by Simon on 22 January 2012

The House of Commons authorities would be surprised if the clock tower fell into the Thames any time soon. It may well be raised with the Speaker on Monday. Given that Big Ben is situated over the Speaker’s apartments, he may have a view on it.

Thomas Docherty, a Labour MP on the Commons administration committee, according to this Sunday Times article.

This post was filed under: Diary Style Notes, Politics, Quotes, Architecture, Big Ben, London, Parliament, Politics, Thomas Docherty.

Photo-a-day 18: Cobbing’s Palindrome

138 words posted by Simon on 18 January 2012

I’ve been meaning to visit the Wellcome Collection for quite some time – I’ve been received the Trust’s newsletters via post for years. I finally found half an hour to pop in this morning, and would highly recommend it (though 30 minutes is clearly not long enough!). Above is William Cobbing’s Palindrome, an artistic expression of the fact that the pelvis and the skull are thought to share a common evolutionary bony ancestor.

And below, since I just couldn’t choose which photo to use today, is the complete human genome in printed form. Not only is it an impressive display of human achievement, it also provides a slightly depressing reminder of the relative weediness of the Y chromosome!

Both of these exhibits are from the Medicine Now exhibition, which is permanent, free, and well worth a visit.

This post was filed under: Photo-a-day 2012, Art, London, Medicine, Public Health, Tourist Attractions, Wellcome Collection.

Photo-a-day 17: Ben’s Cookies

34 words posted by Simon on 17 January 2012

No trip to London is complete without stopping off here to pick up supplies for my girlfriend: there’s nothing she likes better than a milk chocolate Ben’s cookie, with extra big chocolate chunks!

This post was filed under: Photo-a-day 2012, Food, London, Retail.

Photo-a-day 16: Teddy bear

25 words posted by Simon on 16 January 2012

I don’t understand why Travelodge chooses to use these slightly threatening teddy bears to advertise hotels: if anything, it puts me off staying here!

This post was filed under: Photo-a-day 2012, Hotels, London, Retail, Teddy Bear, Travelodge.